Police are on the hunt for a watch thief after a pensioner said his Rolex was stolen in broad daylight.
The victim, a man in his 70s, was walking on Richmond Road in Aylesbury at just after 12.45pm on Monday when he was approached by a woman who offered him cleaning and gardening services, Thames Valley Police reported.
The force said she then started to offer sexual services and touched him inappropriately over his clothing before allegedly robbing the Rolex from his wrist and running away.
The suspect, who is described as a white woman in her 20s or 30s with long dark hair, is now the centre of a police manhunt.
She was wearing a black baseball cap and light coloured clothing and was approximately 5ft tall, police said, adding that she may have had a Spanish accent.
Residents who rushed to the man’s aid after the incident told the Daily Mail that the woman approached him from behind and started to hug and kiss him in the street.
They said she told him ‘I love you’, before ‘stealthily’ taking the expensive timepiece and running off in a distraction mugging which took just 30 seconds.
The pensioner alerted neighbours on the street after the theft and was described as ‘confused’ and ‘devastated’.
One eye-witness said: ‘I thought they knew each other. It was shocking. She was hugging and kissing him. She told him she loved him. Then she ran off.
‘I feel so sorry for the guy. It was awful. He was devastated. He was clearly very confused. It’s a disgusting crime. It’s such a sick and vile thing to do.
‘The woman was much younger. She was ruthless. It was a calculated strike. She took the watch in a stealthily way. He didn’t have a clue until after.’
Another resident said the man called for help by knocking on doors in the street. One said: ‘He was really upset. He does not live around here, I think he was visiting.
‘It’s sickening. He looked close to tears when he realised. She’s evil.
‘She was a complete stranger. There’s a worry she could do it to other pensioners around here again. The sexual assault is disgusting.’
Jamie Thorne, 39, said the man was said to be ‘visibly shaken’ after the incident.
The plumber said: ‘He was very shaken. We all are. The community is reeling.
‘The woman is truly disgusting. It’s preying on the vulnerable in the most vile way.
‘We have very low crime rates here. I can’t remember anything like this or any burglaries or anything like that. It’s peaceful.
‘It feels like it was done intentionally in the suburbs to avoid detection.’
Investigating officer Detective Constable Mandy Cutler said: ‘This incident has occurred in the early afternoon, and I am appealing to anybody who witnessed this to please get in touch with Thames Valley Police.
‘You can do so by reporting online or by calling us on 101, quoting reference 43260169849.
‘We also have a dedicated digital portal available where witnesses can upload any relevant digital evidence, such as dash-cam or doorbell and CCTV images or footage.
‘If you don’t wish to speak directly with the police, you can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.’
Millions of pounds’ worth of items were stolen on the streets of London in 2025, with thieves targeting items such as phones, watches and jewellery.
But these crimes are not consigned to London’s most deprived areas. Criminals have begun venturing to the capital’s poshest regions – such as Mayfair and Westminster – in search of expensive goods.
Data collected by the Daily Mail in December revealed that 3,207 items worth upwards of £1,000 each were snatched last year.
It is estimated that the total price of those items that were stolen reaches more than £5million, with watches valued at as much as £30,000 among those to have been looted.
Westminster was identified as the biggest hotspot for every kind of theft, with 363 handbags, 309 watches and 104 jewellery items stolen in the central London borough between January 2024 and August 2025.
Some of the most high-profile victims of muggings in London in the past year include Bridgerton’s Genevieve Chenneour, Loose Women’s Christine Lampard and Jenson Button’s wife Brittny.
This crime wave is also being fuelled from overseas, with gangs of prolific thieves entering the UK from countries such as Algeria and Bulgaria to steal thousands of pounds’ worth of belongings from unsuspecting members of the public.
